Sunray10 wrote:I run my own website and know about these people. They are a pest. I have had four-letter word messages, spam, trolls, adverts about viagra and condoms, you name it. I just delete them and carry on.

Are you not taking any further action other than deleting the posts? If so that is only treating the symptoms and not the cause. Do you not add the IP ranges of the sources to your blacklist?

No, I leave it to the server called Wordpress.They have some company called Akismet that stops spam and adverts getting through. But a few do keep getting through, though not as many, as when I started it. I am editor/admins on there all on my own so have to watch every comment and put sites on at least three a week with much researching into these historic places. I don't know why folk put these spam messages on and adverts because they cannot be seen until I moderate them. So, obviously these people just get a kick out of me seeing the comment, but I get many nice messages as well saying "how great the site is" and "can we have more please" etc etc.

It's me, Gillian. I know this may sound odd but it all happened very fast. I made a trip to France and I misplaced my luggage containing my passport and credit cards. I've contacted my bank and the embassy, the embassy is willing to assist me but my funds are depleted to pay for a new passport fees and other miscellaneous expenses.
I have contacted my bank, but it would take 5 working days to access funds from my account. Please can you lend me some funds? I'll pay back, as soon as I return home.
I await your response,
Gillian Diane Lucas

Clever stuff because the name is genuine. Just goes to show how efficient they are at harvesting names. Of course, it has been deleted but I can well imagine more gullible people responding and wonder what the consequences could be.

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

I get quite a few of these spam e-mails. But now I just delete them. I just hover the mouse finger icon over it and a little line of words comes up - usually saying 'Do not open this'. Its worth trying. I have also had a few phishing messages which have caused me problems over the last few months - one pretending and really looking like Paypal. Now I know what it is I just delete the thing - its not worth risking.

We get quite sophisticated email and phone call scams now that must trick many people unfortunately. If you run a small business from home, especially an international one, it can be difficult to distinguish spammers from your customers and suppliers some times. We had an email yesterday from a fax service notifying us of a fax and holding it in an attachment. It looked quite plausible but the attached file is a zip file, so it's gone in the bin regardless of what it might be.

There is an article in PE this week about a British firm that sells spyware which enables code to be dropped on a computer giving access to the perpetrator to all your data. It's a dangerous environment out there!

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

And then there are the nice people who call you to let you know they are concerned about your computer, or want to make you rich by claiming money for you. I wonder how much the 'industry' generates in a year? Remember, they aren't all as sceptical as us.

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

Not email but cold calls, this is the nearest topic I could find. I got a call last night, didn't answer it but used 1471 to get the number. It was 0856856856 and I looked it up on the web this morning. There are no end of warnings about it but no information about what it is or what it's trying to do to you. Has anybody any information about this?

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to apply by sending us your CV for perusal and for possible job engagement or you can nominate individuals who are well-suited for this position. We are genuinely interested in recruiting candidates from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. We would appreciate it if you would post, publish and circulate the position announcement. It may be duplicated and distributed as you wish in order to bring it to the attention of candidates who might be interested and qualified. You are advised to briefly answer the below online questions and submit with your details.

1. Why did you choose this career?
2. What goals do you have in your career?
3. How do you plan to achieve these goals?
4. Can you work well under deadlines or pressure?
5. Tell us about a time when you failed to meet a deadline. What were
the repercussions?
6. Why do you want to work here?
7. Why should we hire you over the others waiting to be interviewed?
8. What is your Current Monthly Salary Package in US Dollars?
9. How soon can you travel down to start your new Job?
10. What job position/s are you currently holding with your current employer?
11. What specific Job Positions do you target from North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO)
14. Give us full details on the Following;
(A.) Full Name :
(B.) Permanent Mailing Address
(C.) Current Mailing Address
(D.) Tel/Mobile Number(s)

15. What is your Country of Nationality? Is it different from your Present Location? If yes please state your Current resident Country.

16. What is your Future Plans for NATO U.K?

Note: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is all around the globe and you are coming to work with our department in UK.
After the perusal of your Cv/Resume by our recruitment department, we would forward your application to the Human Resource Manager for a possible job placement.
Sincerely,
Mary Jones
Screening Committee,
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

I've had 2 emails in the last couple of days from friend's hacked email accounts, with just a greeting like "Hey", and a link. I got a similar one from my brother's email account a few months ago. Each one has been from a btinternet account.

Cold calls. I don't normally worry about cold calls but I was intrigued last night when one continues to ring out for far longer that usual. 1471 gave 090008 as the number. Most peculiar so I looked it up. Evidently I am not alone and they are usually silent calls. You can't help but wonder what the point is of activities like this. Someone must be making money out of them somewhere otherwise why bother?

Stanley Challenger Graham
Stanley's View
scg1936 at talktalk.net

"Beware of certitude" (Jimmy Reid)
The floggings will continue until morale improves!

Or it's one of those operations, probably malicious, where the computer system calls out to a list of numbers and allocates them to staff but simply hangs onto your line silently if all the staff are already engaged on other calls.

Bt internet have a tie up with yahoo - and it is the yahoo servers with the spamming infectoin.
I've had no end of problems with the yahoo bit this last year or so. I often use another email client instead of bt/yahoo but the spam filter wins......and then stops me sending attachments until the bout of "indigestion" is cleared at the server. (I check by doing s full anti-c**p scan, but has been clear every time !)

My spam inbox gets quite a few, mostly phishing/spoof about online banking login fails, but that'll not catch me. I don't do online......the other common one recently has been tax refunds ! they also get dealt with in my usual fashion.

I am Mr.Alexander Kofi Mensah Mould? the CEO Ghana National Petroleum Corporation which awards contract in the Department of Petroleum Resources of Ghana. I head a seven man Tenders Board Committee in charge of contract award and Payment approvals. I came to know of you in my search for a reliable and reputable person to handle a very confidential transaction, which involves the transfer of a huge sum of money to a foreign account.

There were series of contracts executed by a consortium of Multinationals in the oil industry in favour of the (GNPC) among which were;

1) The expansion of Pipeline network within Ghana for crude oil and downstream products distribution and subsequent evacuation - US$2 Billion.
2) Contract for Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of Refinery in the country.
3) The construction of Storage Tanks for Petroleum Product (Depots)-US$94 Million.

The original value of of these contracts were deliberately over invoiced in the sum of Twenty Five million, Five Hundred Thousand United States Dollars $25,500,000.00) which has recently been approved and now ready to be transferred. However the companies that actually executed the aforementioned contract have been fully paid and the projects officially commissioned. Consequently, my colleagues and I are willing to transfer the total amount into your account for subsequent disbursement, since we as civil servants are prohibited by the Code of Conduct Bureau (Civil Service Laws) from opening and/or operating foreign accounts in our names.

Needless to say, the trust reposed in you at this juncture is enormous. In return, we have agreed amongst ourselves to offer you 40% of the transferred sum, 10% shall be set aside for any incidental expenses during the course of this transaction, you will then be mandated to revert the balance to us in due course.You must however NOTE that this transaction is subject to the following terms and conditions; our conviction of your transparent honesty and diligence, that you must accord this transaction with utmost confidentiality and secrecy.

Modalities have been worked out at the highest levels of the Ministry 0f Finance, Central Bank of Ghana and the Presidential Task Force on Contract Payment for the immediate remittance of the funds within 5 - 7 working days subject to your satisfaction of the above terms. Our assurance is that your role shall be totally risk free. To accord this transaction the legality it deserves, and for mutual security of funds, the whole procedures shall be legally processed with your name or any company you may nominate as the bonafide final beneficiary.

Once more, I want you to understand that having put in over 20 years in the Civil Service of my country, I am very much averse to having my image and career dented. This matter should therefore be treated with utmost secrecy and urgency. Kindly expedite immediate action as we are well behind schedule to enable us include this transfer in the second batch of the 2014 fiscal year contract payments.